Cereal crops are
mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds
(actually a fruit called a caryopsis). Cereal grains are
grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other
type of crop and provides more food energy to the human
race than any other crop. In some developing nations,
cereal grains constitute practically the entire diet of
common folk. In developed nations, cereal consumption is
more moderate but still substantial. The word cereal has
its origin in the Roman goddess of grain, Ceres. Staple
food grains are traditionally called corn in Britain,
though that word became specified for maize in the
United States, Canada and Australia.

True
cereals
The cereal crops are (in approximate
order of greatest annual production):

wheat,
the primary cereal of temperate regions

rice,
the primary cereal of tropical regions

maize,
a staple food of peoples in North America, South
America, and Africa and of livestock worldwide; called
"corn" or "Indian corn" in North America and
Australia

millets, a group of similar but
distinct cereals that form an important staple food in
Asia and Africa.

sorghums, important staple
food in Asia and Africa and popular worldwide for
livestock

rye and triticale, important in cold
climates

oats, formerly the staple food of
Scotland and popular worldwide for
livestock

barley, grown for malting and
livestock on land too poor or too cold for
wheat

fonio, several varieties of which are
grown as food crops in Africa

teff, popular in
Ethiopia but scarcely known elsewhere

wild
rice, grown in small amounts in North America

spelt, a close relative of wheat

Pseudocereals
In addition, several
non-grasses that are grown for their seed may also be
referred to as cereals. These pseudocereals include (in
no particular order):

buckwheat

amaranth

quinoa

kaniwa

cockscomb

Cultivation
A
wheat field in Dorset, England.While each individual
species has its own peculiarities, the cultivation of
all cereals crops is similar. All are annual plants;
consequently one planting yields one harvest. Wheat,
rye, triticale, oats, barley, and spelt are the
cool-season cereals. These are hardy plants that grow
well in moderate weather and cease to grow in hot
weather (approximately 30 ?C but this varies by species
and variety). The other warm-season cereals are tender
and prefer hot weather.

Barley and rye are the
hardiest cereals, able to overwinter in the subarctic
and Siberia. Wheat is the most popular. All cool-season
cereals are grown in the tropics, but only in the cool
highlands, where it may be possible to grow multiple
crops in a year.

Planting
The
warm-season cereals are grown in tropical lowlands
year-round and in temperate climates during the
frost-free season.

Cool-season cereals are
well-adapted to temperate climates. Most varieties of a
particular species are either winter or spring types.
Winter varieties are sown in the autumn, germinate and
grow vegetatively, then become dormant during winter.
They resume growing in the springtime and mature in late
spring or early summer. This cultivation system makes
optimal use of water and frees the land for another crop
early in the growing season. Winter varieties do not
flower until springtime because they require
vernalization (exposure to low temperature for a
genetically determined length of time). Where winters
are too warm for vernalization or exceed the hardiness
of the crop (which varies by species and variety),
farmers grow spring varieties. Spring cereals are
planted in early springtime and mature later that same
summer, without vernalization. Spring cereals typically
require more irrigation and yield less than winter
cereals.

Harvest
Once the cereal plants
have grown their seeds, they have completed their life
cycle. The plants die and become brown and dry. As soon
as the parent plants and their seed kernels are
reasonably dry, harvest can begin.

In developed
countries, cereal crops are universally
machine-harvested, typically using a combine harvester,
which cuts, threshes, and winnows the grain during a
single pass across the field. In developing countries, a
variety of harvesting methods are in use, from combines
to hand tools such as scythes.

If a crop is
harvested during wet weather, the grain may not dry
adequately in the field to prevent spoilage during its
storage. In this case, the grain is sent to a
dehydrating facility, where artificial heat dries
it.

In North America, farmers commonly deliver
their newly harvested grain to a grain elevator, a large
storage facility that consolidates the crops of many
farmers. The farmer may sell the grain at the time of
delivery or maintain ownership of a share of grain in
the pool for later sale.

Food
value
Cereal grains supply most of their food
energy as starch. They are also a significant source of
protein, though the amino acid balance is not optimal.
Whole grains (see below) are good sources of dietary
fiber, essential fatty acids, and other important
nutrients.

Rice is eaten as cooked entire grains,
although rice flour is also produced. Oats are rolled,
ground, or cut into bits (steel-cut oats) and cooked
into porridge. Most other cereals are ground into flour
or meal, that is milled. The outer layers of bran and
germ are removed (see grain (fruit) and seed). This
lessens the nutritional value but makes the grain more
resistant to degradation and makes the grain more
appealing to many palates. Health-conscious people tend
to prefer whole grains, which are not milled.
Overconsumption of milled cereals is sometimes blamed
for obesity. Milled grains do keep better because the
outer layers of the grains are rich in rancidity-prone
fats. The waste from milling is sometimes mixed into a
prepared animal feed.

Once (optionally) milled
and ground, the resulting flour is made into bread,
pasta, desserts, dumplings, and many other products.
Besides cereals, flour is sometimes made from potatoes,
chestnuts and pulses (especially chickpeas).

In
American English, cold breakfast cereals and porridges
are simply called cereal. Cereals are the main source of
energy providing about 350 kcal per 100 grams Cereal
proteins are poor in nutritive quality, being deficient
in essential amino acid lysine. The proteins of maize
are still poor, being deficient in lysine and tryptophan
(a precursor of niacin) Rice proteins are richer in
lysine than other cereal proteins and for this reason,
rice protein is considered to be of better quality. Rice
is a good source of B group vitamins, especially
Thiamine. It is devoid of Vitamines A, D, C and is a
poor source of Calcium and Iron.